


My Hero

by Artemis_The_Nerd



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Bank Robbery, Banter, Difficult Decisions, Dogs, Domestic, Drama, Dramatic Entrance, Dramatic Reveal, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mocking, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pleading, Reminiscing, Sadness, Secret Identity, Secret Identity Fail, Sleepy Cuddles, Superheroes, Supervillains, Villains to Heroes, annoyed reformed villain, dramatic villain, hero wanting to be free, no beta we die like men, secret lair, someone nearly dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23870203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_The_Nerd/pseuds/Artemis_The_Nerd
Summary: Theo Smith is an ordinary man, he left his life as the most feared supervillain and chose to settle down and be Normal. But on a trip to the bank he gets held as a hostage and is forced to make a decision.Does he reveal himself and lose the life he has made? or does he watch his hero, the only person who may truly understand him die?
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character, hero/villain - Relationship
Comments: 9
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my first tries writing third person so bear with me. If i have made any spelling, gramer or other mistakes please let me know and I will try to fix them.  
> Im super exited to post this story as It was a short story that i wrote quicky a while ago and liked the concept and story so much that I am editing it and making it longer (and gayer).  
> Sorry that this first chapter is a little short, I will try to make them longer than this and im thinking 3 chapters

Theo Smith was your typical citizen, a perfectly average man out on a walk with his dog. But he was only average and ordinary on the surface, he certainly wanted to be just average and plain, he didn't want anyone to notice him, he wanted your eyes to pass right over him, a boring man with his dog. Unfortunately below the average man, there was an extraordinary one. A man who held enough power to topple the greatest of cities, the power to make everyone around him live in fear, and he had. He had the entire city under his hand, no one could go anywhere or do anything without his knowledge. He had been feared and none could take him down, well almost none. The incident had been the end of it all, he had fallen far and realized much. He traded in his extraordinary life of Danger and Power, for an ordinary one. one where no one gave him much thought, and if they ever did it was just a passing remark about his cute puppy or that he seemed a little lonely. Though no one gave Theo any thought, just the way he liked it, he was still quite proud that many believed the great and terrible villain Soul Slayer would return any moment, he never would but it was nice to know that he had made an impact.

He was out on a walk with his new puppy on an ordinary day when he realized he would need some cash and he stepped into the bank after tying his dog outside. Inside the bank there was a small line for the atm so he went up to the teller instead, a mistake, for as soon as he stepped up to the teller he was grabbed from behind and felt the cool press of a gun to his head.

“Get the money and put it in the bags, and don't try anything or he gets it” The captor pressed the gun harder into his head, he had to play along, play whatever silly game these weaklings wanted to play, ordinary men certainly didn't have the power to suck the power and life force from people, only one man could do that and he didn't want to have to leave the life he had made for himself, he quite liked being Theo Smith. He stood there pretending to be in fear and chastising himself for not seeing this coming, he had let his guard down, he had thought he would be safe. But Theo did not have the same protections that Soul Slayer did, the name didn't strike fear into the hearts of all. It just made people think of an ordinary man, somehow he had forgotten this. It was bound to happen eventually, even after his fall the city still had one of the highest crime rates in the world, but that was slowly going down. He should have moved cities but he just couldn't find it in himself.

“Hurry Up” His captor grumbled, who seemed to be the one in charge. It snapped him out of his wallowing, if he couldn't use his powers he would have to think his way out. He heard the pathetic whimpers of the other people in the bank, there seemed to be about 5 men plus the one holding him, he tried to gauge their positions and wished he was facing the other way. He heard a gasp and then the sound of breaking glass, the man holding me whipped around finally letting me see the rest of the room. He was right there had been 5 other men but now there was someone else.

His old nemesis.

His hero.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was a lot of fun to write, and in writing/editing it i more than doubled the original word count for this section and realized it was going to be much longer than 3 chapters. This one is a little longer than the last one and most chapters will probably be closer to this length.  
> Thank you to anyone reading this story and all kudos/comments/bookmarks are appreciated.  
> Enjoy!

Everything was still for a few moments, his hero looked at him, and just for a moment it seemed as though he would be recognized. 

“Release him” the hero spoke, it seemed as though he wouldn't be recognized, he let out a breath of relief. His hero had not put his power into the words, he was so weak always letting the villain choose before trying to make them. Maybe that is why it took him so long, he always tries to make them a good person. He tries to get them to think, it never works, at least not on someone who already had thought about their actions.

“I said release him” this time there was subtle power in the hero’s words. He was surprised it was weaker and held less power, looking at him he could see how tired his old nemesis was getting. Honestly, when he had seen him he was shocked at how much he had aged in the year since his downfall. Even with the small amount of power the words held the gun dropped slightly before being pressed up against his head harder. 

“Ha, is that the best you can do. I would have thought you were stronger, I mean you did defeat soul slayer, or did he feel bad at how weak you are” How dare this puny villain try and compare himself to Soul slayer, there was no way he was going to win this fight, besides his hero had only been able to defeat him after he had gotten help from his superhero friends. He scowled, he was still in the grasp of the weakling but pressed up against him like this it was easy to look into his power, he could grab onto it right now, reduce this pathetic excuse for a villain to nothing in seconds, but he couldn't he had to keep his cover, had to let his old adversary rescue him, he had to play the game

“Really” the hero laughed “comparing yourself to Soul Slayer, a no-name villain like yourself could never be that powerful” he froze, did his hero, his old nemesis, just compliment him? Call him powerful? That was new. 

“I'm not a no-name” the new villain roared “I am spark plug, and I will rule this city better than soul slayer ever could” He held in a laugh, this pathetic excuse for a villain was cocky, there was no way he would even be able to take this bank let alone the city, his hero was more powerful than that. 

“Release him and surrender” he felt the power wash over him yet again, a little stronger this time. The man holding him hesitated yet again

“Still too weak, are you sure that you're the mighty Commander hero to all? But i’m getting bored of this, words words words, I would rather use my fists” the villain pushed him to the side and his henchman grabbed him tying him to a chair, he sighed he could take them all down without lifting a finger but than he would have to go underground for months carefully crafting a new identity, and he had just gotten a dog. Being normal was so tedious. The villain begins to crackle with energy, making a big show of it, blowing out lights and all that. This villain isn't only weak, he's tacky, he's got no drama, no wonder no one’s ever heard of him. 

“Let’s see how well you fight  _ old man _ ” Did this pathetic excuse for a villain just call his hero  _ old _ . He is not allowed to say such things, the more this weakening speaks the more he is asking to be destroyed. He does not have the build-up, the drama that you need to throw banter like that. The only one that could do that was him, he was the only one that got to call the Commander old, and this spark plug had, by extension also called him old, he would enjoy watching his hero defeat this worm.

This  _ spark plug _ now had lighting around him and was rearing to strike, as the hero took a deep breath in, focusing. He cursed to himself how could he forget this, he concentrated throwing his power around the room scattering the traces of it. His hero would since it but wouldn't be able to find him. He felt the wash of power as his hero reached out with his mind, he felt waver and saw a flash of fear on the heroes face, he must have sensed his power but it only lasted a second before he latched onto the villain at hand, his concentration returning. The energy around this known villain starts to diminish, had he not realized how strong the pull would be, only one person had ever been able to resist that pull, and on one glorious occasion reverse it. This new villain had never stood a chance. 

Refusing to use his new power the hero stood above the villain 

“Stop this” he hadn't used his powers but there was still a commanding tone, making you listen to what he had to say. He was always so peaceful, never trying to harm anyone. 

The hero stepped away from the villain who had fallen to his knees and was trying to cope with the feeling of emptiness that came from having your powers drawn out of you. The hero started to untie me and help the others out the door, the henchmen having moved away in fear of the hero. As he reached the door he took one last look at the familiar scene of a defeated villain. But he wasn't there, this spark plug wasn't on the ground as he had been a moment ago. Before he could look around as to where he had gone, his hero was slammed into the wall next to him. He had underestimated this villain a little, he was stronger than he looked, still nowhere near his power or- his thoughts were cut off when his hero looked at him 

“Call help” he whispered before pushing off the wall back into the fight. He was frozen in place, his hero had just asked for help, he had never done that before. Slipping out the door he tried to think of what to do, he couldn't call the police they had always been useless cowards and he didn't know any of the other heroes in the city there was only one option, but he couldn't, he wouldn't do it, it would ruin everything he had built. Besides he didn't carry a suit anymore. His hero would be fine, there was no way he would be defeated by that weakening. 

A loud crash came from behind him, he watched as his hero was thrown into the building across from the bank, it was impossible, the new villain was  _ winning _ .

“Think think think think think” he muttered to himself ducking into the alley next to the bank with his dog, what could he do? He swore as he ran into the end of the alley, the sounds of the fight echoed from the street.

He had trapped himself. He was useless. 

His hero was going to be defeated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the origanal version of the story it ended right about here (it was also much shorter than this the story as a whole was just over 1000 words)  
> This story has no beta so sorry for any mistakes, feel free to tell me any you notice and i will do my best to fix them  
> Comments/Bookmarks/Kudos make me so exited whenever i get notifications about them!  
> I drew soul slayers costume (put at beginning of chapter) , thanks to whoever drew the outlines i used (i would credit them but i cant find who did them sorry!)

He leaned his head against the end of the ally, using his powers would mean losing the life he had built, but he had run into a dead-end with no way to get to his suit or anyone who could help. He punched the wall next to him and nearly fell forward as the wall moved and opened to reveal a tunnel. It was one of his, looking around recognition dawned on him this was the first bank he had robbed all those years ago. He ran into the tunnel, his muscle memory taking him to the main layer, and his dog ran beside him. When had he put that tunnel in? He had never used it, but he was glad it was there now, he stepped into the main chamber and tied his dog to a table leg, didn't want her to get into any dangerous thing he had left around here.

He slipped into his suit as fast as he could, it was a little tight in some places but still fit relatively well, back in the height of his power he never had to rush, always had the chance to look in the mirror and make sure everything was looking sharp. He didn't have that kind of time now as he raced through the tunnels throwing on the last pieces of the outfit, why on earth had he ever thought high heeled boots were a good idea?

Emerging from the tunnel he was glad to hear that the fight was still going on, His hero was still alive, there was still time. It felt weird being soul slayer again after all this time, after all the effort he had put into reinventing himself. It felt even weirder that this time he planned on helping. He climbed up to the roof needing a vantage point to view the fight and a dramatic entrance. That's another thing this new villain got wrong, all entrances need to be dramatic and have flair, that's what strikes fear into people, that's what makes a villain powerful. He stepped to the edge of the roof observing for a few moments, his scarf snapped behind him as the wind picked up, he had chosen a scarf to stand out, capes were too mainstream. His hero was holding out but it was obvious to anyone watching that he was losing. Oh how the mighty had fallen. He was about to jump down when his hero happened to look up and see him. Time froze, his hero had never looked at him with so much fear, sure he had looked scared before but never afraid, never like he was staring death in the face. There was a loud crackling of energy that snapped him out of it, looking over he saw the new villain charging up to shoot a bolt of energy at the still distracted hero.

He took a deep breath and focused on the waves of power coming from this weak villain. The bolt shot out towards his hero but right before the impact it arched up toward him, he sucked in the power from the bolt and the familiar tingling feeling of it spread through his body. The villain seemed to notice him for the first time as he jumped down off the roof landing with practiced accuracy, right in front of his astonished hero.  
“Oh yes!” the new villain called out “Now you can never win commander, we will take you down and rule this city”  
“No no, you’ve got this all wrong” He turned toward this new villain

“I'm not here to help you, I would never work with such a weak. Pathetic. Sorry excuse for a villain” he reached out with his mind and latched onto the villain’s power and began to drain it, it ran out in seconds, how weak could someone be. Spark Plug Fell to his knees as his life force began to drain out of him. This is why it had been so hard to leave, the feeling of others' powers pouring into you was one thing their life force was on a whole other level. How had he ever left this feeling felt so good, he could do this again. He could feel the thrill of stealing life all the time again, he could-

“Please,” there was a fragile voice behind him, “stop” why was that voice so familiar? He shrugged it off, it didn't matter.

“Slayer,” the voice said, why did he know that voice? “please?” the voice asked again, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Then it hit him, that was his hero, the whole reason he was doing this. He let go of the power, spark plug crumpled unconscious and just barely alive. He took a shaky breath in and fell to his knees, he had nearly ruined it, he had nearly given in to the power. Taking someone's life felt so good, it was addicting, there had been a time he had been, it had nearly happened again. He dreaded to think what would have happened if his hero hadn't stopped him.

“Slayer” his hero’s voice was gentle but had a hint of fear. He looked up and realized he hit him, he had to get out of here, the commander was going to arrest him and he was going to lose the life he had, the one he had already nearly lost. He stood and turned to go back down the alley to his normal life.

“Slayer, wait” He paused, his back still facing his hero.

“Yes”

“Why? Why did you-

“Just because i'm not around anymore does not mean the city needs to be overrun with pests” He Ran into the alley ignoring his hero who continued to yell questions after him.

****

Walking through his lair now is different, it's so quiet. There are no henchmen running about helping in the building of whatever machine or weapon was going to help him take over next. There was no longer the yelling and laughter that rang out from his villainous friends who were helping or looking for a safe haven. It was just him.

He walked into the main room and heard the soft whine of his dog, he guessed he wasn't completely alone. He looked around for any dangerous substances he had left out before untying his dog letting her roam throughout the layer as he changed. The layer had been exactly as he left it, the only change being the layer of dust beginning to settle on top of it all, he began to fiddle with the freeze ray gun he could never get to work right when his dog barked.

“So this is where you hid out all those years” He wiped around pointing the gun in his hands at the intruder who didn't need to know it didn't work. The intruder was a man in his late 20s with a short crop of brown hair, jeans, and a plain maroon t-shirt, He was standing on the balcony that overlooked the workroom. Seeing the gun the man held his hands up,

“Sorry to burst in on you-” he nearly lost his balance and fell over the edge as the worst guard dog in all of history jumped on him trying to get him to pet her. But this man, he sounded oddly familiar, looked a little familiar too.

“Who are you and why shouldn’t I kill you on the spot” He trained the gun on the new position of the man. The man softly pushed the dog off him,

“I'm surprised you didn't immediately recognize me,” he leaned forward on the guardrail “Slayer.” The gun clattered to the ground,

“You- no- I-It” his hands were shaking as he reached around trying to find another weapon, he would need one if this really was who he thought, but it couldn't be that was impossible

“Calm down” there was a subtle wave of power that washed over him as the word were spoken confirming his fears,

“Commander”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fact that people even look at my story is extremely baffling to me and you have no idea how much it means to me, so thank you to each and every person!  
> even more baffling is any comments/kudos/bookmarks that make me so exited and happy whenever I receive them!

His hero was here, he had lost. His whole life was going to be ruined because he had been careless, of course, his hero had been able to see into the ally, he had been following him. But he wouldn't go down without a fight. He had worked too hard for his new life to just give up on it. He drew the power he had stolen to the surface, he could never win, he wouldn't be able to defeat his hero, he was out of practice.

“I'm not here to fight you” he looked up, that couldn’t be right. “You saved me back there, I wanted to thank you”

“Thank me?”

“I would never have won if you hadn't shown up'' he began down the stairs "I mean don't get me wrong I was terrified when you showed up, I thought you had been training all of the new villains. I thought I was going to die, but then you helped me. Even more surprising you listened to me, I didn't even use my powers but you listened and-”

“I understand how you got here, but why out of the silly costume you wear? And even if I saved you, I'm still the most wanted villain, am I not?"

“I- well” he stopped at the bottom of the stairs “I came out of my dignified and not at all silly costume to show you that I am not here to harm you and not here in any official capacity. And yes, you are still the most wanted villain but I'm just an ordinary civilian right now, what chance do I have against Soul Slayer” he took a tentative step closer to me. “Why did you help me?”

“Well you asked me, didn’t you?” recognition dawned on his face “what would it say about me if my arch-nemesis was defeated by a weak nobody?” his hero came a little closer, there was something very familiar about him, he had thought it was just him recognizing his hero but it was more than that. He had seen this man before, but where?

“You could have gotten the police or someone else but why come back as Soul Slayer?” he was now standing right next to him, where did he know him from? Had he gone on a date with him, he was certainly his type. But that didn't feel right, then it hit him. He took a step back, into a table,

“How-” this man, his hero had been there, he had always been there “How can you trust me? I- you” he looked sad

“So you do recognize me” it was impossible, his hero had been there, his hero was the brother of the first man he had ever killed.

“After what I have done, how can you stand here and thank me?”

“If this had been before I wouldn't be able to, I was so angry at you for so long, but then you disappeared. I thought I had killed you. I wasn't happy, it didn't do anything for me. I thought it was because there was no proof that I couldn't be sure you were gone. But then you showed up today, and I was scared and shocked and a whole slew of other things, but I wasn't angry anymore, You were different, I was different. For so long we had both been fighting for something unattainable, trying desperately to achieve the impossible” he stepped forward and grabbed his hands “but now we are past that, now we are so much stronger” they stood hand in hand for what seemed like an eternity, but was in reality only a few seconds.

“No, i'm not being a hero”

“But we could be so great, the city would be clear of villains in days, we-”

“No” he pulled his hands away, “i'm not giving up my life to be a hero, I quite enjoy having a reputation as a villain”

“But you helped today”

“The only exception, I'm slowly regretting it” he turned around to fiddle with random wires that had been left on the table behind him.  
“We would be unstoppable, you could get a new costume and not have to give up anything” turning to the table was supposed to end the conversation, but he should have known his hero was relentless.

“As if anyone would believe that I was someone new with the same exact powers and stature, and I know how a villain thinks I refuse to give up the life I have worked so hard to build and keep. You being here has already ruined it enough.”

“How has my being here ruined your life, I thought we were getting along quite well” he walked over and sat against the table next to me,  
“I have a normal life, I have a dog and a job and friends and all of the things I never had the chance have or even want as soul slayer.” he put his hands down on the table to stop them from shaking “I'm sorry but i'm not giving that up to go play hero” He looked over into the other man’s eyes, and they stood there like that for a moment,

“I understand” his hero sighed pushing himself off from the table and taking a few steps, he watched him go, he should say something but he had no clue what. Suddenly his hero turned back to face him

“But how do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Leave.” this was the fourth time today his hero had left him speechless, and he was getting really sick of it, he was the one supposed to be leaving people speechless. He had apparently paused too long,

“I mean you left, you have a life you really care about now and I want that. This hero thing has been tearing me apart for so long. There are other heroes in this town and I just need to leave.” He was still speechless, his old arch-nemesis was asking for his help? This was unheard of, it was… well, it was honestly a little endearing. He was still processing and decided to try and understand a little more,

“If this hero business has been tearing you apart, then why did you ask me to join you?” his hero looked guilty

“Well” he rubbed in neck nervously “It- uh, being partners with you would- um, it would make it more bearable, and, um well- I uh” while his hero being flustered was cute he decided to have mercy on him

“Alright, but I don’t think I can help you as much as you think. I was a villain when they disappear it is seen as wonderful. You are a hero, you cant duck out as easy.”

“I guess your right” his hero dropped his hand “I would still-”

“THEO” an angry voice shouted from the hall above the balcony. He turned to his hero,

“Hide” he whispered urgently, his hero had just duked underneath a table when a figure emerged on the balcony,

“Hey,” he said meekly, smiling weakly at the newcomer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI I have gone back and edited all of the previous chapters for some basic grammar.  
> lots of love to anyone who reads this story <3

“Hey? Is that really the best you got Theo, hey?” The newcomer said sharply staring down at him with a stare that could strike fear into the hearts of the boldest of villains, and somehow she was his best friend. She sighed, 

“You were doing so well, two years and no trace of Soul Slayer and then go and ruin all of that hard work, and now your helping? You say you just want a normal life and then you go pull a stunt like this? I mean what were you thinking? Do you-”

“Ash,” he said stopping her mid-rant “i'm sorry”

“Ok,” she said a little calmer “but that’s not an explanation.”

“I- um” he tried not to glance at his hero, there would be a whole other lecture if she found out about him, 

“I know you Theo so don’t you dare say I don’t know. You wouldn’t do this type of thing without something that pushed you, so out with it” his hero shifted slightly under the table, he hoped that ash wouldn’t notice but, 

“What was that under the table?”

“Oh, it’s just…” he tried to quickly think of an excuse “my dog”

“Slayers here,” she said excitedly, and yes, he had named his dog after his old persona. And maybe he had used the shortened version only his hero was allowed to call him, what about it? 

The excuse he had made quickly fell apart when slayer, hearing her name, bounded over to Ash. as she bent down to pet her she said 

“Ok, so what’s really under the table”

“Um its, uh” he tried to come up with another excuse but couldn't think of any, he looked over at his hero and nodded his head. He stepped out from under the table, 

“Oh,” she looked back and forth between us for a second “you know you could have just told me you had a boyfriend”

“Ash, I can ex-” he paused finally registering what she had said, he began to blush. 

“Ash was it,” his hero spoke up “I’m not his boyfriend, but…” he checked him out and winked. He began to blush harder, he really was out of this whole supervillain thing huh, had he still been in it he wouldn’t have been left speechless this many times.

“Right, so not only are we going out again and playing hero we’re also bringing strangers down into our _secret_ layer”

“I didn’t bring him down here he followed me!” He realized that that, in fact, would not make it any better the moment it left his mouth. Ash had pursued her lips into a tight smile,

“Even better” her tone was calm but she was glaring at him with a stony glare “so he’s not your boyfriend and he’s not your friend,” she leaned over the railing a little, “who is he?

“This is...” he realized he didn’t know his heroes name,

“Nick” his hero was named _Nick?_ That was not what he had expected at all, but he liked the name, Nick, it suited him.

Ash, apparently deciding that she needed a closer look jumped off of the balcony and used her weather-controlling powers to drift down by them. He sighed, he doesn’t think he had ever seen her use the stairs, but then again she had been trained by him. Nick looked a little taken aback at her for a second, before his eyed widened in recognition, 

“Your Storm,” he said 

“Yes, _Commander,_ ” she said his name like it tasted bad in her mouth. So she recognized him, this would be interesting. They began to circle each other the intensity built in the room as they both drew on their powers. 

“Stop” he stepped in the middle of them, he had a grip on both of their powers pulling just enough to let them know that he could take their powers at any moment 

“This isn’t your fight, Theo,” Ash growled 

“Yes it is Storm. I am your mentor any fight that is yours is mine too, but also as your mentor I am here to teach you when and who _not_ to fight” 

“You’re defending him! Whose side are you on?” 

“Yours every time Ash, but Nick isn’t the enemy” he looked over at Nick “for now”

“Ash” Nick spoke up tentatively “I’m sorry, I know what I did to you was wrong in every way, but I can’t change the past. I'm not proud of what I have done to a lot of people and it will keep me up at night forever with the what-ifs. I understand if you cant forgive me. But I am truly sorry” he nodded a goodbye at me and began to leave. 

“Wait” Ash dropped her stance, we both knew she had given up on this fight long ago “I forgive you, I did a long time ago when I realized the fight wasn’t worth it” He breathed a sigh of relief glad that ash had chosen not to fight, he had just started to reconcile with his hero and he would hate for it all to have been in vain.

“So” she turned to him with her hands on her hips “you have yet to explain why you came back and played Hero.” Nick turned back around, 

“That would be my fault before I realized who he was I asked him for help and he jumped in. I was scared at first but,” he shrugged “turns out he’s just a big softie” 

“I am not! I was the biggest supervillain in this city for years”

“Yeah,” Ash said “but your still just a big softie”

“Are you two ganging up on me now, you were enemies literally two seconds ago” 

“And…” Nick said, “what’s your point? you cant form a better or quicker bond than the one that comes with mutual teasing someone. But I guess you wouldn’t know that cause you’re a softie” Ash went over and high fived him 

“I. Was. A. SUPERVILLAIN!” 

“Right,” Nick crossed his arms “ a supervillain who never attacked hospitals, suburbs, or really any innocent people only going after the corrupt and rotten I couldn’t get at. You had your act of a big bad and fooled a lot of people but I saw through it”

“I-uh-” he had no comeback for that and decided to glare at them with the evilest glare he could muster at the moment. Ash and Nick smiled knowing they had won

“Theo,” Ash said “I will forgive you this time, but if you ever pull a stunt like this again I will become known as the hero who destroyed Soul Slayer. Have you got that?” 

“Mmhm, loud and clear”

“Good. Now that that’s settled I will take slayer home and leave you two alone” she began to walk towards one of the tunnels Slayer on her heels “oh and Theo, remember we have that reunion later tonight and as much as you want to I wouldn’t recommend bringing Nick as your plus one”

“So,” Nick said, “I'm hungry, want to keep talking over dinner?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I know it took me forever to update this and I'm sorry, it hopefully won't take me as long to do the next chapter.  
> I'm still surprised that anyone has read this story much less enjoyed it so thank you all!

He couldn’t believe it, he would never _ever_ imagined this. He was sitting there eating at a table with his old enemy of his own free will, and he was enjoying it. All they had done so far was make a little small talk, he had never really known much about his heroes life, as much as he had wanted to, as much as he had searched and looked and tried he had never been able to find out much about his heroes life. He’s humoring himself he had been able to find nothing of his heroes life he hadn’t even been sure he had one outside of commander. But here he was sitting at a table in a diner making small talk with Nick. 

He looked at him, _really_ looked at him for quite possibly the first time. He was strong, no doubt about it like he could break you in half like a toothpick, but he was also soft, he never looked down at the ‘lesser’ acts of heroism like getting a cat out of a tree or helping an old lady cross the street. Most importantly he was _hot,_ if Theo had to explain his type it would just be a picture of Nick he-

“A penny for your thoughts,” Nick said. Just then the waiter came up with their food and saved him from answering the question, he would make sure to tip very well. They ate in awkward silence, neither of them really knew what to say. 

“So…” he said breaking the silence, he searched for a question “um, you want to stop being a hero?” Nick looked up 

“Yeah, I’m getting tired of it and there are other heroes now. I just don’t know how, often heroes don’t live long enough to even think about retiring, lucky I had such a soft nemesis.”

“Hey! Again with the insults, I’m trying to help” Nick held up his hands in defense

“Sorry, sorry,” he chuckled “I’m not trying to offend you, its meant as a compliment. It actually made me angry for a long time because it was that much harder to hate you” he went back to eating, he didn’t know how to respond to that. He had been the biggest villain, but Nick was right, he tried to keep the innocents out of it. There was a reason for that, he had been one himself, that was what set him off, made him who he was, who he _is_. But that was a long and painful story and he tried to think of other things.

“Maybe you could fake your death?” he piped up, he wasn’t sure why he had said it, it was a dumb idea. 

“I- well” Nick seemed taken by surprise “I could, but how, I mean we would have to get a villain to kill me and-” his eyes widened, 

“It can’t be me”

“Why not?”

“Because then I would have to be a villain again, I’m sorry but-”

“Ash” he cut me off

“What?”

“Ash, or well, Storm could kill me, she is still in the villain scene” Nick looked exited, he knew the feeling, the hope. Nick really didn’t want to it anymore, he could see it in the way he agreed and came up with ideas for this ridiculous plan.

“No Nick, this was a bad idea, I shouldn’t have said anything. Besides Commander’s death would cause an upsurge in villains who think they can now take over.” Nick sighed, he looked super upset, was he about to cry. Nononononoono that would be bad, he didn’t want to ruin this- this... whatever it was. He liked Nick.

“Nick we will think of something, I promise I will help you. We can talk to Ash she always had the best ideas, I’m sure together we can think of something” he took a deep breath “together”

“Right- your right” he nodded calming down a little “I got a little carried away sorry. When do you think we could see Ash?”

“Well, I will see her later tonight, I can ask her then and we can meet up sometime after that”

“Why can’t I just come with you tonight” he flashed a smile,

“No” 

“What even is this ‘reunion,’ it can’t be that bad” he felt him self giving in a little bit, but he couldn’t bring Nick that would be worse than a bad idea. 

“No, i- its relly-” 

“Aw come on, don’t want to introduce me to your family” he was pouting now and he was having a very hard time keeping his resolve,

“It’s not a family reunion,” Nick raised one eyebrow in question, “its a villain one” 

“Oh,” Nick sat back in his chair, but he didn’t look defeated “well, I’m sure you have some way of concealing your identity during this, reunion”

“Its a masquerade” why did he say that, why did he tell him? He was obviously planning on still trying to come and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep saying no.

“Well that’s perfect, you can bring me as…” he trailed off in thought “your henchman! Or, nevermind” he sighed

“No one brings a _henchman_ as their plus one,” he was going to regret this “what was your other idea”

“Well, I could always be,” he leaned forward “your date” taking a sip of his water had been the worst idea as he nearly spit it out and most definitely choked a little bit. This was an incredibly bad idea, but he did like the idea of Nick being his date. 

“I- sorry I shouldn’t have said that it was too far and- 

“Fine,” Ash was going to kill him later “you can be my date, but we have some work to do everything about you _screams_ hero”

****

They finished up their dinner and were on their way back to Theo's house to get Nick ready for the mascarade. 

“Ash should have left already so we should be good on her not killing both of us, yet,” he unlocked the door to the house that he shared with Ash. He quickly peeked into the garage to double-check and he was right, Ash had already left.

“So exactly what about me screams hero” Nick had sat down at the dining room table, 

“Your posture, the self-righteous look in your eyes, the way you talk and the way you dress, I should be able to fix 3 out of 4 of those” 

“I don’t have a self-righteous look, and what about the way that I talk says ‘hero’”

“Well for one you do, all heroes do, and the way you talk doesn’t scream ‘hero’ but it sure does scream ‘not a villain’, however, I can’t do much about that” 

“Ok, but I’m not going as a villain am I? I'm going as a villain date.” there was something about the way he said date that makes Theo's heart beat harder, this was all a joke right, just a way to talk to Ash faster, there was no way he actually liked Theo. 

“I guess your right but we still have to fix the hero parts,” he went to go grab a suit that he had gotten as a gift for an ex, it would be about Nick's size and he would finally be rid of the thing. 

“Where did you get this” Nick said when he handed it to him 

“Doesn’t matter go put it on, it should fit,” he pointed Nick to the bathroom to change in and tried to slow his heart down to a normal rate, however, this failed when Nick walked out in the suit. It was an all-black velvet and satin suit with a tie that had the same black-to-purple gradient as his slayer suit, the pants were a little long but other than that it fit him perfectly, he looked stunning.

“Do I look that good?” Nick said to his very obvious staring, he cleared his throat. 

“Wonderful, um, now about the other two things, with the look in your eyes, think less ‘i'm here to help’ and more ‘I’m better than all of you’ do the same with your posture. Lift your chin so you’re looking down on everyone and-”

“Is this all really necessary?” Nick said

“Yes now keep working on that while I go change” as he walked to the bedroom to put on his matching suit the only thought running through his head was _I’m never going to survive this night._


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I keep adding chapters but that's because when I started this the only plot point was ~G A Y~ so...  
> anyway thanks to all of the people who grace my work with their eyes, it makes my day when I get notifications that someone left kudos, comments, or a bookmark.

By the time they had to leave Nick had gotten much better at the whole not looking like a hero thing, he still looked like a good upstanding citizen but at least he didn’t look like a hero, it was a good start. As they waited for the hired limo to arrive Theo tried to think of a way out of this, it was an immensely bad idea, not only would Ash kill them as soon as she saw who he had brought, the one-man Ash had told him _not_ to bring, but there was also the other thing. The thing that made it so he couldn’t _look_ at Nick without feeling short of breath, why on earth had he let him wear that tie, they had to match but that meant Nick was _his_. No. This was fake there was no way that Nick wanted him, this was so they could go talk to Ash, assuming she didn’t kill them first. Though that was assuming he was even able to get to the party alive, they had gotten in the limo and Nick kept looking at him when he thought he wouldn’t notice. Between Ash and Nick, there was no way he was going to survive the night.

They arrived, it was seemingly inconspicuous it looked like a parking garage to the outside eye. Nick looked confused as they went down into the sub-levels and tensed when they went through the fake wall. This is where he felt truly at home, he fixed a purple and black lace masquerade mask to his face and handed Nick a matching one, somehow it made Nick look even hotter. Something Theo kept thinking was impossible, he was constantly proven wrong. They stepped out of the limo into the wonderfully decorated cave, the voluminous cavern was decorated with floating lights that created a soft glowing light through the cavern. They were currently on one side of a velvet rope where a line was starting to form, the other side of the rope had eloquent banquet tables and would be cleared away later to create the dance floor. Nick began to wander towards the end of the line looking up at the lights in wonder. 

“Where are you going?” 

“The end of the line?” Nick said confused

“Tisk tisk, the _line_ is for villains who aren’t powerful and well known, and well I’m the most powerful one here easily, and you’re my-” he blushed slightly and hoped that Nick couldn’t see it in the dim lighting “-you’re my date” 

“Oh,” Nick looked down slightly, was _he_ blushing! Before he could investigate further a booming voice called out, 

“Soul Slayer is that you” Philip looked up, on he saw the man who had called out on the other side of the barrier, 

“Lord Thunder it has been too long,” he said casually strolling past the bouncer without question, Nick trailed behind him.

“It truly has,” the man was short and plump dressed in a slightly nicer version of his regular tan suit, the mask over his face was really only for this event, he was one of the few villains that didn’t wear a mask, he was constantly ambushed by heroes for it. They made some light conversation for a little bit, Nick was just standing next to him listening. Theo would have to remember to tell him later that there could not be a sudden increase in the arrest rate of everyone he talked to.

“Anyway, whos this?” Lord Thunder looked over at Nick

“This is my date, you may call him Ghost” slipping out the name he had used for previous non-villain dates he had brought, though he had forgotten to tell Nick about the name, he took it well though only letting the confusion show for a second before smiling nicely at Lord Thunder, 

“Nice to meet you,” he said. Lord Thunder nodded politely, 

“Well this has been wonderful, but I must go greet others. See you later” Lord Thunder said politely before walking over to another cluster of villains. 

“You did wonderfully,” Theo said grabbing Nick's arm 

“Ghost?” Nick said raising an eyebrow and looking at him as he led them towards their table 

“Yes, I can’t exactly call you com- your other name, and it’s one I have used in the past for my non-villain dates” before Nick could question it further they reached their table, it was the table of honer only for the best of the best villains, of course, he still had the best seat, even after all these years. They sat down and he looked around anxiously to see if Ash was there yet

“Soul Slayer” Ash’s voice was ice and made him jump as she showed up behind him, “I see you have brought a date” she sat in her seat, of course, it was directly next to him, he was trapped between her and Nick. He was right he was going to die before the night was out. 

“Storm,” he said with a nervous smile, he had trained her and was more powerful but she could be intimidating and knew that he would never hurt her meaning that she could yell at him all she wanted. Nick cleared his through 

“I’ll- um- go get drinks” he walked off to the drink table, leaving him alone with Ash. 

“I thought I told you _not_ to bring him,” she was speaking in a hushed yell “someone is going to recognize him, what on earth made you do this?” instead of answering he just looked down blushing, 

“No, really.” her anger was broken momentarily, “Theo, you’ve known him for a day, he’s gonna break your heart. He was your nemesis for crying out loud, but that’s only if you survive tonight, you brought a man who has put half of the people in this room in _Jail_. If anyone finds out you’re in trouble especially with that stunt you pulled earlier. You are already in enough trouble as it is and if there is an upsurge in the arrests of the people at this party who do you think they are going to look to" he looked over at Nick who was being cornered by Sword Spinner at the drink table 

“He wants to stop,” he said softly “he wants to stop doing all of that, we couldn't come up with anything and you always have good ideas. I said I would talk to you and get back to him but than…” he trailed off

“You can't say no to him?” Ash said, he looked back over at her and nodded. Nick had escaped from the conversation with Sword Spinner and walked back over and handed some punch to him 

“Sorry Ash I only had two hands, I can go back and-” Ash shook her head standing up 

“It's ok I was just getting up,” she looked at both of them, “we can talk about this later it's too dangerous to talk about it here. Enjoy the party we will talk at home after” with that, she walked off to a small gathering of other villains 

“So what did Sword Spinner want to talk to you about” He turned as Nick sat down next to him, 

“Well he started flirting with me asking me what a fine man like me was doing here alone” He clenched his fist under the table, Nick was _his_ even if it was just for the night, Commander was also his but Nick meant so much more to him. “But when I told him that I was actually here with you he got scared and walked away quickly, it was weird he apologized a bunch and turned pale” 

“That would be because he learned from the last time he tried to flirt with one of my dates” He unclenched his fist and smiled, he was still powerful. 

The rest of the night went by without any trouble, they chatted with many of Theo's allies and even a few of his rivals. When the dancing happend Theo died a little not only because of the close proximity but also Nick was an incredibly good dancer and kept good, and flirty, conversation up the entire time. Theo tried to flirt back but was distracted by the looming threat of someone recognizing Nick, something that would mean a lot of trouble. As they were about to leave Theo heard a voice behind him,

“Soul Slayer! long time no see!” He groaned internally this is the last person he wanted to talk to, he had been actively avoiding him all night. He turned around faking a cheery demeanor, 

“Why hello puppeteer, it has been a while!”

“And who is this you have on your arm” he motioned at Nick

“This is Ghost my date, Ghost this is puppeteer my…” he trailed off, how was one supposed to introduce their ex. 

“Old friend” Puppeteer interrupted his thoughts 

“Yes well, unfortunately, we were just about to leave, I wanted to show him… something. We will have to catch up some other time” he knew his excuse was flimsy but he really didn’t want to talk to his ex right now. 

“Oh, surely you can talk for a little while. I’m dying to know what that little hero stunt this morning was” not only was he asking about the last thing he wanted to talk about, the half baked reason he had planned out would be hard to use on puppeteer.

“It was a mind control thing, Commander must have had some other hero lurking nearby I just got caught up in it is all.”

“Mind control?” Puppeteer raised an eyebrow quizzically “if I remember correctly you are the hardest person to use mind control on, I could only ever do it with all of my concentration even then it would only last a few minutes” Theo glanced over at Nick to gauge his reaction to all of this, he seemed blank-faced, bored almost. 

“I was out of practice and had let my guard down, some hero sent out a mind control message into the area to get anyone powerful enough to help to come to their aid, I was around a corner and hadn’t seen or heard what was happening I got dragged into it, all I remember is waking up in my old suit in my lair. Storm filled me in on the details when she realized what happened.” He paused “Now I really need to get going, it was nice to see you again”

“Alright, see you around” he walked off. Theo let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding. He and Nick turned and started walking off back to the car, he had called the chauffeur around earlier 

“When did you have time to come up with all that? It was impressive ” Nick said as they approached the car

“Well it wasn’t that hard, I had come up with the whole mind control thing earlier as someone was bound to ask about it, the rest was just improv”

“You improvised all of that?” Nick sounded impressed, there was a brief pause as they got into the car,

“Yes? I have had a lot of practice, not only was I an actor in my younger days but all of those wonderful one-liners and villainous speeches I did where mostly improv” the look Nick has made Theo melt, he looked so impressed at this small meaningless thing.

Theo was in danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (can you guess what happens in the next chapter *wink*)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey I know it's been a while but I'm still working on it, I might add a few more chapters than it says bc I just love these boys so much ya know.

It was a little late when they got back to Theo’s house, he realized that Nick might want to go home; he had spent most of his time with Theo. 

“If you want I can drop you off at your house and we can talk to Ash tomorrow, I mean you probably have a life outside of being a hero,” Nick started _laughing_

“Have- you think” he couldn’t get through the sentence he was laughing so hard, Theo was stunned, of all of the jokes and humorous things he had said throughout the day _this_ is what made him laugh the hardest. Anyone else and he would have been offended. 

“Sorry, sorry” Nick said calming down “that may be the number one reason I have never left before, I had nothing outside of being a hero” did- did he just say _had,_ as in past tense, he wants to continue this odd friendship. Honestly could he be called a villain with how many times Nick was making him speechless. 

“Ya,” he tried to not show that he was short circuiting “we can go in and talk to Ash now then” he moved to get out of the car, 

“Wait” he turned back around to Nick,

“Ye-” he was cut off as Nick kissed him, his soul, if he ever had one, had officially left his body. The seconds turned into hours and he absolutely melted, everything outside of the kiss disappeared and his mind was quiet for once, only filled with the sensation of the kiss. When Nick pulled away, all he could think was _“more”_

“Sorry, I-” he acted on that thought as Nick tried to apologize, the kiss lasted longer this time, both of them surrendering into it. Nothing Theo had ever felt had ever been as good as this. 

“We should, um- probably go, um” Nick started breathlessly, “uhhh, we should” 

“Talk to Ash, ya” Theo cut in clearing his head a little. 

They wordlessly stepped out of the car, as Theo slowly came to the realization that he had wanted that for _so long._ He tried to pinpoint when he started liking Commander as a person and not a hero and was a little embarrassed at how early it was. 

Ash looked up from her phone when they walked in, she looked between them before looking back at her phone, 

“Took you long enough” 

“I-” there was no point of trying to deny it in front of Ash, “how did you know?”

“Please Theo, think for once in your life” she held up her hand as if to count off the points “One, I have known you forever and looks of longing you have been giving him for _years_ advanced to a sickening point tonight. Two, I saw the limo pull up and you took forever to get out of the car. Three, your hair is messed up and I know for certain it wasn’t when you left the party. Would you like me to continue?” He and Nick looked like teenagers who had gotten caught messing around by a parent, he cleared his throat 

“No, I think you proved your point” 

“Now I know you want to talk to someone with a brain, I will still be here in a few minutes if you boys want to go get changed.” She looked back down at her phone, and he shared a look with Nick that meant 

‘ _When and how did she get so much power over us’_ before they shuffled off to get changed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *posts a new chapter after months having completely changed the characters names*  
> Hey guys, sorry it's been a while school will be the end of me.  
> also ya I hated their names so I changed them to Theo and Nick (I have gone through the previous chapters and changed it) Phillip= Theo and Mark=Nick  
> Anyway enjoy this fluffy chapter

“So let me get this straight,” Ash was slowly getting annoyed with them “you couldn’t come up with any ideas that wouldn’t cause a major uptick in villains” 

“Well” Theo started

“No you guys are complete idiots” 

“I wouldn’t say that” Nick cut in 

“Oh, but you are; the answer is so simple” Ash stared at them with a look of bewilderment on her face. They sat there and waited for her to continue when she didn’t Nick asked 

“And that is…?” 

“You know the  _ Daily Voice  _ once called you two “the smartest ever hero-villain pairing” it’s hard to believe” Ash went over to the fridge and pulled out an iced tea, “granted its unclear if they meant you two were smart if they meant that it was smart you two idiots were busy going after one another to cause any real trouble.” 

“If you are done insulting us would you get to the point,” Theo sat on one of the barstools leaning against the countertop. 

“I'm never done” Ash took a sip from her tea “but the solution is to not leave” 

“Did you miss the point so entirely” Theo stared at her “we are trying to get him to leave” 

“I wasn’t finished you umbrella” 

“You’re the fool, underling.”

Nick stood awkwardly by the stove as Ash and Theo descended into an insult battle, unused to the banter he was unsure if he should step in or let it run its course. After about a minute he decided to clear his throat, they looked up at him seemingly having forgotten that he was in the room 

“Right, so since you two mad scientists couldn’t look at a long-term solution I, the brilliant, amazing, and talented person I am present my proposal,” Ash waved her arms around in a great arch making a show. Theo smiled he had been the one to train her hadn’t he, though he hated to admit it he knew Ash could have been better than him, would have an unyielding grasp on the city if she tried. But that was not what motivated her, he was glad, at least, that that part of him had not passed onto her. 

“If the audience could pay attention to my brilliant plan that would be wonderful” Ash snapped in his face, 

“I was” he definitely hadn’t been

“Suuureee, now as for you” she turned to Nick “you just have to retire, slowly leave let the other heroes pick up the slack until you no longer have anything to do.” she finished and turned walking out of the kitchen “and now i'm heading to bed, I would say ‘stay out of trouble’ but I know who i'm talking to. Night.” she disappeared down the hall, when Theo heard the door click shut he turned to Nick

“We really are idiots” they sat for another moment before breaking out into laughter, 

“I cannot believe we didn’t think of that” Nick said before breaking out into more laughter. 

“Well now that thats all sorted out” Theo turned to Nick “I think we have some other business” Nick looked confused

“Other business?” Theo paused, was he really that thick, 

“Yes,” Theo stood up and walked towards Nick “other business” 

“Oh?” Nick, the poor soul, still looked confused as he stumbled back a bit, 

“Yes you big idiot,” Theo pushed him back into the wall, his face inches from Nick’s. 

“Oh” 

“Now tell me you want this.” Theo dropped his voice to a growl, Nick looked as if he had just been hit over the head and nodded 

“Say it.” Theo pushed him against the wall even harder, Nick gulped 

“Yah” the second he said it Theo pushed into a kiss. This one was not like the soft heart melting one they shared earlier this one was powerful he took every bit of the longing he had collected over the years and forced it into the kiss, Nick surrendered into it. 

Theo broke the kiss gasping for air 

“Does this mean I win” He grabbed Nick’s chin “Commander.” Nick’s head snapped up, 

“Only if you kiss me again” Theo gladly obliged, he smiled into the kiss, 

“What on earth is on your mind,” Nick wined 

“I’ve found your weakness” 

“Shut uppp” Nick pulled him back into the kiss this time it was a bit calmer. When they broke apart Nick wrapped his arms around Theo’s waist, resting his head on his shoulder. 

“Is someone getting sleepy” Theo purred, Nick simply hummed in response. Theo checked his watch not breaking the embrace, it was quite late, he hadn't realized. Of course, it wasn’t unusual to find him up late, Ash had gotten used to seeing him on the couch the afternoon after a sleepless night, where he had either been tinkering or coming up with a contingency plan for a slew of unlikely circumstances. 

Nick planted a soft kiss on his neck, lazily rubbing circles with his thumb on his back. He leaned into the embrace for a second. 

He pulled back suddenly, Nick snapped to alert instantly his arms tightening around Theo 

“We don’t have a guest room and-” 

“Theo” He liked the soft way Nick said his name “you just utterly melted my brain with a kiss and i'm not letting go of you” Theo nodded, malfunctioning, Nick simply picked him up with ease, starting to walk to the hallway

“Which door?” Nick paused, Theo pointed towards his bedroom door before snuggling into Nick more, How could one person radiate so much warmth? Nick set him down on the edge of the bed 

“I don’t really want to sleep in this suit, do you have something that would fit me?” Theo stood up 

“Ya, um,” his head was still clouded, he just wanted to cuddle Nick more, he dug through his closet finding an old pair of sweatpants “here, I, um don’t have any shirts that would fit you.” That was a lie he just wanted to see Nick shirtless 

“Right.” Nick said seeing through his lie but not pushing further “i’ll be right back” he walked out towards the bathroom. Theo changed as well and sat on the bed feeling a bit tired, maybe he would be able to sleep tonight. 

Nick walked back into the room, and he froze. He had known Nick had muscles but  _ damn _ . Nick fliped off the light leaving only the dim light of the bedside lantern before crawling into the bed. Theo snuggled right up to him, the man radiated heat. Nick draped his arm over Theo before reaching over and turning off the light 

“Night.” 

“Night.” 

It was the first time in a while Theo slept fine the entire night. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one a long one so get ready.

He awoke to Ash banging on his door. He didn’t want to get up Nick had his arms wrapped around Theo and he felt safe for once in his life. 

“Theo get your ass up. This is important.” He groaned moving to stand, Nick’s arms tightened around him, the big oaf was still asleep. Ash pounded on the door again, 

“I’m coming, I'm coming” He untangled himself from Nick who seemed to finally be waking up. He opened the door, Ash was standing on the other side, already fully dressed in her Storm costume. He rolled his eyes, morning people. 

“What.” whatever she woke him up for better be important. 

“Two things, first I made pancakes” 

“You woke me up for pancakes” He went to close the door in her face, she put her hand out stoping it 

“ _ Second _ , and more importantly,” she held up her phone, on the screen was an article by the Underground, a news site that was exclusively for villains,    
“Legendary Villain Soul Slayer Has Compromised Us All” He looked up at Ash confused, 

“Look at the byline” he looked back at the article,  _ an opinion piece by puppeteer _

“No-” he knew that snake would do something he skimmed the article 

‘As we all know last night was the Annual Villain Conference and Reunion (AVCR). I'm sure you noticed that our very own celebrity, the Legendary Soul Slayer had a new Ghost on his arm. This however was no ordinary Ghost of his. The man he had on his arm was none other than the Hero Commander.’ he looked at Ash 

“No one will believe him, he’s tried to slander me before. Everyone will just see this as a jealous ex” 

“Keep reading” he weary looked back at the phone 

‘Now I know many of you won’t believe me, we did date at one point, how do you know this isn’t just jealousy? The answer to that question is to just think, The stunt that Soul Slayer pulled earlier that day. He helped the hero out, and what was his excuse? Mind control. Now I know I'm far from the only one who has those powers, but has anyone been able to seriously control Soul Slayer? That's part of what made him so legendary, his supernatural ability to resist the commands of mind control.’ Theo was spiraling, no one would believe this, right? If they did he was in trouble. He opened the comments. There were a few skeptical comments from his closest allies, as well as some from those he had intimated too far to ever stand against him. However much to his dismay, a majority of them were agreeing with the article.

“This is exactly why I told you not to bring him,” Ash looked angry at him, “even I can’t come up with anything to save you from this hole you’ve dug yourself into” 

“What hole?” Nick had finally gotten out of bed, how did he look even hotter with messy hair. He padded looking over Theo’s shoulder and wrapping his arms around his waist. Theo could get used to this 

“Someone recognized you,” Ash said bringing him back into reality, Nicks eyes widened 

“No- that’s- that’s not good” Theo chuckled 

“It’s way worse than not good, It’s the worst possible outcome” Theo leaned back into Nick, he had to think. There was a way out of this, Losing his reputation would sting a little but Nick, Commander would be destroyed. Both Heroes and Villains would hunt him down, He hoped that the heroes hadn’t heard or at least hadn’t believed the rumors.

“One more thing” Ash held up a piece of paper “the U.V.C has called an emergency meeting” 

“The U.V.C?” Nick asked 

“United Villain Council,” Theo responded, he really shouldn't be telling Nick these things but it was too late to hide the villain underground from him now, he held out his hand for his invite 

“You didn’t get one” 

“I- what” he sat stunned “But I'm the-” 

“Head council member I know. The invite actually told me to not tell you, but I really don’t know what they expected” 

“Well it’s clear we just storm them,” Nick said

“Well I do have the ability to storm in there, it’s a trap.” 

“What do you mean?” Nick looked at him, 

“They knew Ash would tell me, so they told her a false meeting location. There may not even be a meeting” 

“Oh” Nick put his head down on Theo’s shoulder, It really wasn't helping his brainstorming 

“They probably are having a meeting, this is the type of thing they react to. My Guess is Ace called and is running the meeting. My liar was the next meeting room in the rotation but it’s obviously not going to be there. It won’t be at Ace’s place either, they’ll want to throw us off the trail.” his brain had kicked in analyzing the behaviors of those he had watched for years. 

“I’ll meet you in the living room with a list of council members and their reactions to the news,” she looked him up and down “i’ll also get a pot of coffee for you.” he nodded, Ash knew him almost too well sometimes. 

“Where did you leave your commander suit?” Theo looked at Nick, he wished they could still be snuggled together, it was the most secure and safe he had ever felt. He would make sure to destroy that snake, he honestly should have years ago. 

“Back at my place, why?” 

“You need to do damage control with the heroes, make sure none of them turn against us. You're a terrible liar, so we’ll have to come up with a cover story that stretches the truth.” he rummaged through his closet, “here, put this on for now. I need to not get distracted” he tossed a shirt to Nick caught it raising an eyebrow 

“You do have a shirt my size” Theo blushed 

“Shut it,” he watched as Nick put on the shirt, a bit saddened by the fact he couldn’t just stare at Nick’s abs anymore,

“we’ll come up with a plan with Ash and then cut through the lair picking up our suits.” Theo threw on a hoodie, he was cold now away from the warmth Nick radiated. 

He walked into the kitchen pulling out a plate and handing one to Nick. He picked up a stack of pancakes and bacon. It was hard to brainstorm hungry. He watched Ash write on the whiteboard she had pulled out names in three different columns. Allies, Enemies, and Neutral/Unsure, he grabbed a large cup of coffee before sitting on the couch. Nick sat down on the ground in front of him so he could eat off of the coffee table. 

“There is room on the couch” Theo had hopped Nick would sit next to him so he could not so subtly cuddle him, 

“I didn’t want to spill syrup on the couch,” Nick said, prompting Theo to look at Nick’s plate where his pancakes were drowning in syrup 

“You are a monster,” Theo said,

“You’re the monster, who eats pancakes with only butter and no syrup?” Nick’s quick retort made Theo smile 

“I understand that pancake toppings are very important, but the issue at hand is a bit more pressing” Ash said as she stepped back from the whiteboard    


Allies

Lord Thunder 

Meltdown

Mist

  
  
  
  
  


Unsure/ Neutral 

Sword Spinner

Moon Weaver

Vortex

  
  
  
  
  


Enemies

The bastard himself: Puppeteer 

Ace

Plague

Vampire 

Darkstar

Knightmare   


  
  


Theo looked at the list, All the council members were there as long as a few notable villains. 

“Move sword spinner to enemies, he won’t act against me directly because he’s to much of a coward but he will help Puppeteer” Ash nodded moving his name. Theo looked over the list, even with the allies they had it would still take a long shot to come out on top. 

“We’ll have to attack when the council is in session, it should be even that way unless Moon Weaver comes out of hiding” 

“And how likely is that?” Nick asked, 

“Not very, Moon Weaver has been gone for weeks and is not the type to involve themselves in drama” Ash responded for Theo

“Attacking at a council meeting will remove Mist, Plague, Sword Spinner, Vortex, and Knightmare from the list meaning its 4 on 4” 

“You seem to be counting me with your allies,” Ash said as she added a new category on the board ‘Will kick Theo’s ass for not listening’ and putting her name underneath it 

“Look I'm sorry I didn’t listen to you, but I’ll count that as a subcategory of allies” 

“Wait 4 on 4, so I'm not there?” Nick said, 

“No, you have the very important job of making sure the heroes don’t turn on us too, besides you being there would only confirm it and we would have no allies” Theo reached over and set his empty plate on the coffee table and resting on Nick,

“Right,” Nick pushed his empty plate away and leaned back into Theo 

“Would you two lovebirds focus” Ash rolled her eyes,

“I'm perfectly focused,” Theo pouted, “you and I storm the meeting. It will be at Lord Thunders lair, I can get him to tell me when. Commander is off talking to the heroes, don’t announce your retirement yet, the villains are already on edge. Storm and Soul Slayer burst into the meeting and confront Puppeteer. We’ll have to come up with something for us, but Nick tells the heroes that you were at a villain gathering undercover as an upcoming villain and that you happened to run into me. The heroes won’t know very many specifics about the villain underground and therefore won’t see through that. If they do go to my lair and hide, they are working with one of the villains if they know that.” 

“When did you come up with that?” Nick twisted to look Theo in the face, 

“Just now, why?” 

“No reason,” he looked impressed, this plan was nothing compared to the ones he thought up at the height of his power. This plan had a million ways it could go wrong. 

“Won’t they question if we feed different stories to the heroes and the villains?” 

“No, two reasons we will link ours to Nicks. Probably something along the lines of making him think we didn’t know but I was keeping an eye on him or something. Also, the heroes and the villains don’t trust each other meaning they won’t believe the others' story as the true events.” 

“And what should I say when they ask what I’ve learned? 

“Well did you learn anything more than possible alliances and vague plans?”

“Uh, well not  _ at  _ the party, no” 

“Well then tell them what harmless information you learned at the party, of course, don’t tell them all of the things you have figured out by existing in the secret life of the world's greatest supervillain.” Ash scoffed at the statement, 

“We’ll see if you can still hold that title after today, the plan is okay and has a thousand ways it could go wrong. Like how do you even know it’s at Lord Thunders lair?” 

“As soon as the meeting was called it obviously couldn’t be at mine and Ace’s would be too obvious. The false invitation you got was for Darkstar’s so it’s very unlikely to be there, Lord Thunder is a close ally and has seen me as a son for years, he’ll advocate they have it on neutral ground at his place. It is not only one of the most protected but also the place that seems to be lower on the list due to the fact he is our ally. It’s the most unusual place, I have watched and worked with these people for years, if it’s not at Lord Thunders it would mean they were able to get their heads out of their ass’s, which is unlikely” He slumped back into the couch, sometimes he forgot how much of the behavior of other villains he knew. His observations and analysis had saved him countless times, It helped that when absorbing powers and souls he subconsciously was able to understand who these people were, he couldn’t completely trust a single one. Not even Ash, she understood that. At least he hoped she did. 

Nick was staring at him in wonder, 

“How do you know so much about these people?” 

“Observation and the small bits of soul I’ve absorbed” He shrugged, most of it was subconscious. A survival mechanism stemming from some distant trauma

“And how often do you absorb your allies' souls?” Nick looked a bit concerned 

“Well it should be noted that villains are all working for their own ends and therefore cannot ever be true allies, therefore to make it to the top I had to give them a bit of fear, something to let them know they should never mess with me.” 

“Remind me to never get on your bad side” 

“Nick,” was he really that much of an idiot “you were my arch-nemesis until a day ago” 

“Oh,” he sat back against Theos legs “I don’t know how I keep forgetting that. It feels like we’ve been friends for years.” Nick was right, the relationship they had had as Soul Slayer and Commander was different than that of any Hero and Villain Theo could think of. They had always had some sort of odd kinship. When Soul Slayer was at the height of his power he had known that every time he did something Commander would show up and try to stop him. They had a sort of dance, and they each knew the part they had to play. Maybe that was why this didn’t feel so strange. 

“We should get going, we don’t know when the meeting is yet,” Ash said, pulling him out of his thoughts. Nick nodded, standing. 

“Let's go,” Theo said also standing, “those bastards won’t know what hit them”


End file.
